I used to really dread working with metal zippers. I would choose a coil zipper whenever I could because you can sew right through them. But it turns out metal zippers are actually really easy to shorten! Let me show you how.
You’re going to need an assortment of tools. Here I have a pencil, ruler, chalk, scissors, knife, lighter, leatherman / multitool, dykes / diagonal cutters, and the metal zipper that needs to be shortened.
Metal zippers are pretty self-explanatory, but if you need a refresher on zipper identification here’s a post about it.
Mark the seam allowance on your pattern piece so you know exactly how long the zipper needs to be.
Then mark on the zipper tape where it needs to finish, or end.
Use a leatherman or multitool to remove the zipper top stops on both sides of the zipper. Be careful when you’re doing this because you’re going to reuse them. A little bit of prying and it comes off.
Then you can use the wire-cutter part of the multitool to bend the stops open just slightly. If you bend them too much they might break in half, or you could even cut through it! Just a little pinch will open it up enough to get back on the zipper tape later.
Use scissors to cut the zipper tape a half inch or so above where your end mark is.
Then use a precision knife to finish cutting the tape between the teeth.
Use a lighter to melt the ends so they don’t fray.
Now to remove the extra teeth. A pair of dykes, or diagonal cutters, is what makes this part so easy. Clip off the metal teeth right at the base of the tape. They will fly everywhere so protect your eyes!
Take off a few teeth below the marks so there’s room for the zippers stops. I leave about 1/4″, so there’s 1/8″ for the stop, and another 1/8″ for the zipper head to extend past the stop when it’s closed.
Wiggle the stops onto the tape at the base of the teeth, and use the multitool to squish them in place from the outside.
Close the zipper to make sure the stops are secure, and there you’re all set!
If you lost or broke one of the top stops don’t worry! There are several options:
- You can use heavy thread and hand sew over and over again at the top of the zipper teeth until there’s a lump of thread large enough to stop the head from coming off.
- You can hand sew a small piece of fabric (felt works well for this) at the top of the teeth.
- You can take a bar (like from a set of hooks and bars) and fold it in half over the zipper tape. Sew it in place as a new zipper stop.
- You can order a bag of zipper top stops from Wawak to have on hand for emergencies like this. Just beware there are a lot of size and color options, so you’ll need to know what size your zipper is!
